I3X: 1 Upcycling Agri-Food W...

Work Package alignment

NUTRITION

+ with some alignment to Energy & Mobility

What are the desired outcomes of I3X-1?

SMAR3TS project partner - UPC BarcelonaTech and its R2EM research and innovation team at Barcelona Research Center in Multiscale Science and Engineering (CCEM Barcelona) are working on tackling the problem of agri-food waste, as well as refining, separation and purification technologies in the labs.
R2EM group is developing research activity on development of sustainable urban and industrial waste management cycles based on resource recovery approaches promoting circular solutions of waste to product and waste to energy. Research also involves efforts on developing environmental remediation solutions for soils and ground water remediation, process and environmental monitoring and environmental risk assessment on ports.
The goal of R2EM team is to advance development of technologies towards technological and societal readiness and scalability. This I3X challenge invites research and innovation talent to contribute to the development of industrial pilots through secondments across the SMAR3TS Consortium.

What skills and capabilities (across disciplines) would be beneficial for I3X-1?

Development of industrial pilots with cosmetic, pharma, and food industries.
Advanced knowledge of separation and purification processes for critical raw material extraction
Business case modelling scenarios
Further development of technologies (e.g., in smart film food packaging)

Examples of Challenges that need to be addressed for I3X-1?

Testing and applicability of technologies in the industry (e.g. testing the upcycling process of agri-food waste for fuel production, chemicals and materials, feed and food ingredients)
Business case modelling and scalability assessment scenarios of upcycling agri-food waste (e.g. on the Spanish market in olive oil; winery; fruits and juices industries)
Regulatory assessment scenarios - EU-level
Domain - Bio-based Economy: building the value chain for antioxidants production
Testing the recovery processes of polyphenols from agri-food waste including olive oil and wine industries through a circular economy
Validation of extraction, clean-up and concentration of polyphenol extracts from olive and wine waste (in connection with LIFE CYCLOPS projects)
Market and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Test of bioactive polyphenols in industry
Collaboration in wastewater valorization and material recovery
Soil quality and waste recycling processes
Digital technologies for food waste reduction and improvement of food logistics
Development of food systems
Open Innovation and Business Model Innovation - role of technologies (e.g. AI) in agrifood systems

I3X-1 Alignment to R3 - Resilience, Restoration, Regeneration

Restoration

Recovery and reuse of critical raw materials for the future of mobility
Maximizing water reuse and water recovery through smart, circular and integrated solutions for sustainable energy use and production

Regeneration